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Poems can inspire a person’s life

Irene MichelColumnist

Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 12:58 a.m.

We were watching a ball game this afternoon with one of our sons, and his wife and daughter. To really be accurate, I’d have to say they were watching the ball game. I was trying to do a little work around the house.

I could hear what was going on and was struggling with the words defense and offense. When speaking of things other than ball games we usually put the emphasis on the end of the word, but when it’s mentioned in sports jargon it’s DEfense and OFFense. I was wondering why.

After they left I decided to look up the words in the dictionary. I only looked up the word defense. I got my answer. It was pretty much what I thought. When speaking of sports, the emphasis is put on the first syllable instead of the last. But I still don’t know why. If anyone can clue me in, I’d love to know the answer.

On Saturday, Vic and I were able to go to St. Bernadette Catholic Church to get our photos taken for the directory that will be published soon with pictures of parishioners in it. Our son, Gerald, and his wife came with us. I saw a lot of people I knew, including one friend I had not seen in ages. We went to high school together, for a while we lived on the same street, and she and her husband were the photographers for our daughter’s wedding.

She told me she had some poems for me. Knowing I loved poems, she went to her car where she had been keeping the poems because “someday I’ll see Irene, and I’ll have them with me to give to her.”

She hurried to where she was parked, got the poems and brought them to me. I asked her if she wanted me to return them, and she said no, they were mine to keep.

What I thought were a few poems turned out to be five books of inspirational poetry, one of my favorite kinds. To me, that was a gift on a grand scale. I’ve already read a few of the poems, and they’re beautifully written, some by well-known poets. Not only that, they are illustrated with lovely pictures of beautiful scenes that take your breath away.

I’ll treasure those books of poetry just as much as I treasure the books of poetry given to me by Ruth Thomas who presented me with her book of poetry, “Nature’s Holy Grail,” and Dickie Bascle’s book of poems and artwork, “Stepping Stones to Heaven.” I feel so fortunate to have such inspirational material in my home library.

Thank you, Sarah. And thank you also to Ruth and Dickie.

I’ve been cleaning out closets and drawers lately and giving good, usable clothing that I either don’t like or doesn’t fit me anymore to the St. Vincent de Paul Store in Houma. One of the articles was brand new. I had bought a dress, and after I tried it on at home, I realized I’d never wear it. I also save and try to fold nicely all my plastic bags I get when I go shopping, and I give them also to our St. Vincent de Paul store.

I’ve been told it saves them money if they don’t have to buy bags to put their customers’ purchases in, so in that small way I feel as though I’m helping. After all, they’re assisting local people, and the money realized from the sales stays in the community.

I’m hearing from a lot of people that the economy is not as good as some of the powers-that-be would like for us to believe. People who have wonderful skills are not able to get jobs with benefits or that pay enough for the skills they possess.

Many complain that they can’t find full-time jobs. Jobs are mostly part-time where the company does not have to pay benefits. Many are getting laid off from full-time jobs and are not able to find employment commensurate with their abilities. I suggest that we keep the unemployed and underemployed in our thoughts and prayers, and that we help them in whatever way we can. Remember, a friendly helping hand is a gift, even if it’s assisting a member of one’s own family.

<p>We were watching a ball game this afternoon with one of our sons, and his wife and daughter. To really be accurate, I'd have to say they were watching the ball game. I was trying to do a little work around the house.</p><p>I could hear what was going on and was struggling with the words defense and offense. When speaking of things other than ball games we usually put the emphasis on the end of the word, but when it's mentioned in sports jargon it's DEfense and OFFense. I was wondering why.</p><p>After they left I decided to look up the words in the dictionary. I only looked up the word defense. I got my answer. It was pretty much what I thought. When speaking of sports, the emphasis is put on the first syllable instead of the last. But I still don't know why. If anyone can clue me in, I'd love to know the answer.</p><p>On Saturday, Vic and I were able to go to St. Bernadette Catholic Church to get our photos taken for the directory that will be published soon with pictures of parishioners in it. Our son, Gerald, and his wife came with us. I saw a lot of people I knew, including one friend I had not seen in ages. We went to high school together, for a while we lived on the same street, and she and her husband were the photographers for our daughter's wedding. </p><p>She told me she had some poems for me. Knowing I loved poems, she went to her car where she had been keeping the poems because “someday I'll see Irene, and I'll have them with me to give to her.”</p><p>She hurried to where she was parked, got the poems and brought them to me. I asked her if she wanted me to return them, and she said no, they were mine to keep.</p><p>What I thought were a few poems turned out to be five books of inspirational poetry, one of my favorite kinds. To me, that was a gift on a grand scale. I've already read a few of the poems, and they're beautifully written, some by well-known poets. Not only that, they are illustrated with lovely pictures of beautiful scenes that take your breath away. </p><p>I'll treasure those books of poetry just as much as I treasure the books of poetry given to me by Ruth Thomas who presented me with her book of poetry, “Nature's Holy Grail,” and Dickie Bascle's book of poems and artwork, “Stepping Stones to Heaven.” I feel so fortunate to have such inspirational material in my home library.</p><p>Thank you, Sarah. And thank you also to Ruth and Dickie. </p><p>I've been cleaning out closets and drawers lately and giving good, usable clothing that I either don't like or doesn't fit me anymore to the St. Vincent de Paul Store in Houma. One of the articles was brand new. I had bought a dress, and after I tried it on at home, I realized I'd never wear it. I also save and try to fold nicely all my plastic bags I get when I go shopping, and I give them also to our St. Vincent de Paul store. </p><p>I've been told it saves them money if they don't have to buy bags to put their customers' purchases in, so in that small way I feel as though I'm helping. After all, they're assisting local people, and the money realized from the sales stays in the community. </p><p>I'm hearing from a lot of people that the economy is not as good as some of the powers-that-be would like for us to believe. People who have wonderful skills are not able to get jobs with benefits or that pay enough for the skills they possess. </p><p>Many complain that they can't find full-time jobs. Jobs are mostly part-time where the company does not have to pay benefits. Many are getting laid off from full-time jobs and are not able to find employment commensurate with their abilities. I suggest that we keep the unemployed and underemployed in our thoughts and prayers, and that we help them in whatever way we can. Remember, a friendly helping hand is a gift, even if it's assisting a member of one's own family.</p><p>Irene C. Michel, a native of </p><p>Terrebonne Parish, is a columnist </p><p>for The Courier and Daily Comet. </p><p>She can be reached at 876-3252 or ICMwriter84@gmail.com.</p>